Photo: Kira Hess is the featured in the photograph on the far right.
A few days ago it had been pouring and of course I had forgotten my umbrella. I decided because it was around 7:30 that it was probably acceptable to just put on my pajamas since my clothes had gotten soaked. Within minutes, some members of The Village Apartments Council, where I live of course, knocked on my door. Within an hour I found myself attending a free smoothie event sponsored by them, and chatting with the vice president of the association, Miss Kira Hess. I later asked her if it would be okay to ask her a few questions about her roles/responsibilities within the organization, events coming up, and some of her other interests. Miss Hess agreed to sit down with me in the sunshine a beautiful fall day and discuss some of these things with her.
HC: What are your roles and responsibilities as vice president of The Village Council?
KH: Generally speaking I create the agenda for Wednesday night meetings, meet with resident hall leaders on a regular basis, and help plan events. In the future I hope to get more people involved in campus housing by attending meetings and make the events that we host bigger and more impactful.
HC: What is a big event that will be coming up in The Village?
KH: The Village Council is sponsoring a Halloween Night on Wednesday, October 29th from 8:00PM-11:00PM. There will be two movies running consecutively, Children of the Corn and most likely Carrie, free food including apple cider, bingo, and a Ping-Pong tournament in The Village Clubhouse. Personally, I am in charge of decorations and can’t wait to put in the black lights to make it feel spookier. This event should be a lot of a great time! In fact I am planning on wearing a costume myself, I just haven’t decided quite yet on what I will wear.
HC: What are some other things that The Village Council as a whole wants to change within the apartments?
KH: Currently we a trying to make events bigger and better because we want everyone to get involved, we have been working on adding a movie channel, and we want to implement gender-inclusive housing to make residents feel more safe.
HC: Besides your role in The Village Council, what are some other clubs that you continue to be involved in on campus?
KH: I am involved in the Students Education Association of Nebraska (SEAN), Nebraska Students for Young Children (NSYC), and Nebraska’s alumni association, the Scarlet Guard. As a member of SEAN, I work with other related organizations, help produce better teachers, and work with other schools to create a positive learning environment. As a member of NSYC, I volunteer to babysit kids one evening, once a month, on East Campus for parents that want to have an evening for themselves. It is also a great fundraiser for the Education Programs at UNL. As a part of the Scarlet Guard, I carry on traditions at UNL by attending events and by recording events with photographs; I have the ability to earn a special pin for wear at my graduation ceremony.
HC: Everything that I have learned thus far truly amazes me. Based on all of these great accomplishments, where to you hope these experiences will take you? Is there anyone who may have inspired you along the way?
KH: Generally speaking, many people inspire me. Everyone has his or her own attributes and flaws. One person in particular that inspires me would be my mom because she has been through a lot, and always continues to do the best for my siblings and myself. I admire here independence and strong will. As far as where I hope to end up, I would ideally like to be a D.O.D. teacher. Being a D.O.D. teacher would mean that I would be stationed anywhere in the world, helping kids in the military, and representing what my father has stood up for. Because he was a member of the active army for several years, I feel that it is my responsibility to live up to that standard.
HC: After discussing all of these amazing things that she participates in on campus, I had to ask her a not so serious question, one that would surprise anyone. I asked her one final question to conclude the interview, which was, “Would you name one thing that no one would know about you, something that is contrary to everything that meets the eye?”
KH: Honestly, this is kind of embarrassing; I have a huge addiction for Disney movies. I grew up around them, and whereas most people grow out of them, I never did. I still continue to watch them and sing along to their songs.